Go get the girl, Makhaya Print E-mail
Category: Shorts
Written by Luke Tagg   
Sunday, 03 January 2010 23:11
Makhaya Ntini's axing from the South African side ahead of the second Test against England at Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday was a sad but necessary end to an era.

Although nothing is official yet, Ntini has been linked to Middlesex in a deal which is widely reported to be taking place this week.

If it goes ahead it will be the end of Mak's illustrious international career, as Kolpak players are not allowed to play for South Africa.

I won't get ahead of myself and eulogise just yet - his international corpse is still warm and I don't want him to pull a Lazarus on me. Nothing personal, George - anyone who startles me gets a swift dirk to the ribs and muttered obscenities in his dying ear about his mother.

I would like to encourage Mak to go, however. Not for any reason other than he's done his time as a national icon and now it's his time to get the girl, proverbially speaking.

Mind you, there is also the small matter of 2/233 in two Tests against England this summer. It certainly hasn't helped his cause.

Asking an ageing cricketer if he'd like to play out his career at Lord's, in between quick trips to the IPL, is like asking Herschelle Gibbs if he'd like a hit on your bong. It's moth to a flame stuff.

At 32 Makhaya is but a spring chicken - he's got a good five years left in him at county level. Middlesex would love to have him as well - Lord's is the scene of one of his greatest triumphs, with his 10/220 in 2003.

He'll be earning pounds, living the good life, taking wickets and escaping the political pressures of his life, for five of the best years a man could dream of. It's a great deal.

I'll be sad to see him go, but all eras must end. He can spend five years amassing a fortune of money, goodwill and stumps before arriving back on the boat to the adoring throngs at Quay Four.

It calls for a quick commendation to the South African selectors, though. It's always a tough call to axe an icon - you'd much rather watch him play his final game, by way of a proper send-off. It's even harder because of Ntini's contribution to the racial makeup of the side, which has been so important for the growth of the game.

It makes the decision to axe him all the more mature, and let me tell you: "mature" is not a word I've oft used when it comes to the unfortunate marriage of sport and politics in South Africa.

It represents a political maturity which has been gravely lacking for so long, and it paves the way for truly non-racial sport in the future, which would be of benefit to all South Africans.

Indirectly I see it as Makhaya's last great play, which could one day be as important as anything he achieved on the field. South African cricket - and the country itself - will be better off for it.

And bonus: Mak gets the girl.
Share
Tags:
 

Add comment

Note: you can skip this entire process - including using the spam protecting Captcha image - by registering. The details of registered members are automatically filled in and there is no security image to deal with. Just a thought.

 


Security code
Refresh

Hot Right Now

Most Popular

Latest Entries

Latest Sledges

I Support

Random Quotes

Do juries in general like to show how knowledgeable they are by spending hours reading up about guys they never watched, pretending they can remember the exact day some guy played a single to long on to reach 23* at a club game in Alice in 1923? They were there, you understand. As much a part of cricket as it is of them.

From: The best South African side?


Popular Taggs

Live Cricket Commentary

Live coverage of English cricket, from the Test Match Sofa.

Cricket Webring

Equator - a cricket webring

Prev

List

Next

hosted by The "Silly Point"

Feed Me Cricket link

Barmy Army

We have 27 guests online